Hostal Rocaverde Trinidad

... This was the best casa though - separate room upstairs, our own private terrace to eat dinner on. Although the airconditioning wasn't working for the last day :( We even had a little furry visitor on our first night. The neighbour's cat came and sat on my lap for a while. Made me miss Milky Joe too!

Our host spoke some English so we were able to get better directions to the beach. We still couldn't find the bus though so took a taxi in ...

... nicer but can still be considered very basic. I am right in the center of historical Trinidad with cobblestones outside the door and tourist stores all over the place. I took a walk as the sun was setting to see if I could get lost here. The answer is yes but I didn't venture too far because getting lost at night takes on a whole different perspective. I visited 3-4 artist studios and was very impressed with the work they do in oils. The oils of the old cars are very ...

... While biking here, Julio (name I later found out) pulled beside me on his motorcycle and started talking to me. So now, I am biking along trying to understand what this guy is talking about in Spanish over the din of his motorbike keeping myself balanced on this toy bike with my packsack and other bag on the carrier. It turns out that I saved 5CUC per day for a place at La Boca only about 400 meters from the beach for the effort ... Que Rico!! It's a really nice place with a ...

... I had to hold my bike on my lap. I would have taken a picture but my camera was buried somewhere and the driver took a shortcut on roads that were a little less comfortable than on the Viazul. After almost getting my teeth knocked out because of resting my chin on my tire, I decided to keep away from it. The others kept looking back at me to see if I was Ok. It was the first time I was ever up to my neck in bicycle with baggage all around unable to move a whole ...

... Beiden blijken niet thuis te zijn maar de zoon des huizes, die overigens geen woord engels spreekt, laat mij binnen. Na enige tijd komt de zus van Julio binnen die gelijk begint met het schoonmaken van de bovenversdieping. Dit is, in tegenstelling tot mijn vorige kamer in deze casa, een zeer ruime en lichte kamer met een prima badkamer en eigen dakterras . Even later komen zowel Nery als Julio thuis en wordt ik wederom hartelijk welkom geheten. Het voelt ...

... NONE!! Finally having to make a deal with one of the standard taxis to get us there... Like I said, it all adds up...

Not sure whether the beach was or wasn't what I'd expected but I definitely wasn't expecting the eyesore that was Hotel Ancon jutting out like a giant orange steamship. We found a small spot on the beach in the shade of a palm tree to plan our towels and the few other things we brought along with us. There wasn't much sunshine around as thunderclouds ...

... our German management consultant, Lars - now if he could not get it all sorted out nobody could. I got my towel on a very willing pony - well it had to be a good'n to cope with my weight - and with the others looking after Gill to make sure she was not swept from the saddle by a low hanging branch - my pony and I were allowed to canter off ahead and I had a ball. Even got into a real horse race with an Italian who was riding on his ...

... leather like submission. But at least it was warm. The chips however were covered in grease and stone cold. Not cold like they had been in a refrigerator or anything, just cold like they had been sitting alone on a shelf in the kitchen for about five hours after being ...

... a result of that movement, not its cause. The perfect ending to our time in Trinidad comes at the bus stop. Jorge helps lug our bags the 10-minute walk to the station. Even with me loaded up with bags, the extra hands help. Just before boarding, I realize I´ve left the peanut butter in the fridge. Oh well, another casualty, but it´s one we´ll feel more heavily. We bid farewell to Jorge and take our seats ...

... coffee, a pot of heated milk, chocolate condensed milk paste for the bread, scrambled eggs.... No one goes hungry. Odalis's father Jorge prepares most of the breakfast. Once that's done, he enjoys a semi-retired existence, which involves quite a bit of chatting with their guests in the coutryard. During our stay, we have some relaxed (if poorly understood by me) conversations. Topics cover coffee harvesting in the surrounding mountains, the challenges ...